Until the advent of wire or bristle brush mats to mats of polyurethane or nylon materials that look and give more of the same feeling as real grass, even with a thick, soft underpad cushioning and large 5.times.5-feet (1.5.times.1.5-meter) square surface, people had not been able to practice their driving golf stroke from a surface that is somewhat similar to natural turf yet is not destroyed with each strike of the ball. However, such mats are problematical, particularly when it comes to practicing the iron stroke where a divot is to be taken after striking the ball, in that the practicing golfer experiences shock from his club striking down on the mat, which subsequently leads to the formation of bad iron swing habits, as, to avoid the shock, the practicing golfer brushes the ball off the mat surface and never learns the correct stroke. Such bad swing habits carry over onto the actual golf course. Accordingly, better golfers prefer not to hit practice balls, especially with irons, off such mats.
In addressing the problem, Mr. Joseph M. Durso invented and disclosed a golf swing training mat, U.S. Pat. No. 5,035,433 (Jul. 30, 1991). See also, Durso, WO 92/01496 (06.02.92). The Durso mat has a follow through notch, and hence, for the first time, a golfer was able to practice his golf stroke, especially his iron stroke, effectively, from a generally durable, realistic-swing-providing practice mat.
However, even the mat disclosed by Mr. Durso is found to be in need of improvement. For example, although actual models of the Durso mat perform satisfactorily in general in the field, the following shortcomings are encountered:
1) With extended use, predominantly, the hitting surface wears, and even though the front hitting edge can be renewed by cutting, which can be a rather difficult job, the hitting surface again wears, and the entire mat must be replaced even though the standing area may be in serviceable shape. Replacement may be an expensive endeavor. PA1 2) Although shock is generally eliminated when an iron stroke is practiced, the occasional "fat" hit could leave Just a bit of a reminder that one was still on an artificial practice mat. PA1 3) Emplacement of a tee could be cumbersome, as when a standard rubber tee is to be inserted, the relatively heavy mat needs to be lifted off the ground a fair amount. PA1 4) The placement of a ball on the artificial hitting surface as for an iron shot leaves the ball up somewhat high in comparison to the position a ball generally takes when it lies in natural turf. This engenders a less than authentic swing in itself as the golfer may "pick" the ball off this type of lie with his swing rather than attempt the proper divot-taking shot. PA1 5) A rubber tee as for practicing driver shots is not adjustable without removing the tee and replacing it with another having shorter posts for teeing up the ball as for 2-, 3-, 4-, and 5-wood practice shots. Varied height tees are not usually convenient; so, practice is often disrupted. PA1 a support surface; PA1 a standing surface; PA1 a hitting surface separate from the standing surface and removably attachable to the support surface and having an area thereof designated as a front hitting area, which is made of a material that nearly looks and gives a feeling of real grass and that is not easily destroyed by repeated swings of a golf club striking the material; and PA1 a follow through notch, also known as a divot area, ahead of the hitting surface in part defined by an obliquely-angled edge generally obliquely angled to and abutting a front edge of the hitting surface, which envoids an area such that a golfer when swinging an iron can properly continue downwardly after striking a golf ball with the iron into the downwardmost portion of the swing after the ball is struck near the front hitting area, and which also allows for the golfer to follow through in a practice swing without striking the obliquely-angled edge segment PA1 such that the golfer is able to and can be encouraged to realistically practice hitting down and through the ball as is to be done with an iron shot to obtain good backspin, and hence, loft, and such that bounce-back or shock can generally be eliminated, and the golfer can thus practice a fluid iron stroke generally without mat-caused interruption.
Accordingly, further improvement in the art is desired.